She was a cat who’d seen 8 of her 9 lives...

Entries tagged with abortion

There are many people out there who are far more eloquent than I am. There are people who will speak on matters of religion and politics and they can draw numbers and regions and leaders from memory.All I can do is talk from my heart.

I am not pro-abortion. I don't think anyone is. But I am pro-choice. I do not think that women should be punished for being pregnant. I do not think that forcing unwanted pregnancies is humane or moral.I think that we should teach sex education.I think we should provide and educate on birth control. I think that there should be free counseling to talk to people who have or are considering pregnancy, birth, abortion...and not in scare tactics. In an open and honest forum to discuss options and consequences. ALL options and consequences.

I have had an abortion. Two kinda of.One was a "malignant pregnancy" and I went the route of an herbal abortion. I had much support from a handful of friends, and online community about herbal abortion and then later from the staff at the Feminist Women's health center. It was a scary time but I was surrounded by love and encouragement.

The other was a "normal pregnancy" and I had a surgical abortion. This one I kept pretty much to myself. The BoY who got me pregnant knew as did two friends. That was is. I set up the appointment and had my pre-screening. The day of the operation I was in and out. There were dozens of other women there. Some of us talked. Some of us distinctly didn't. After I went to the BoY's house and slept. A few days later I celebrated my birthday and went to see Cirque du Solei.

Keeping it to myself was harder. Doing it alone was harder. It was right. I was in no space financially or emotionally to have a child. I was in no space to carry to term much less try to raise it. I can't even imagine what my life would be now if I had not had...and taken....the option of an abortion.

I am happy with who I am and where I am. If I had a child with me it is more than likely that I would be living and working in a situation that I hated just to provide and then passing that hate along to the child. I have seen it happen on several occasions. And not just with women. I have known men just as angry and resentful for the sudden responsibility of an unwanted child. That is assuming they take the responsibility.

Let's look at that one for a moment. What about the times that the parents won't...or can't...take the responsibility. Who is going to do that? Sure, there are government organizations that will help subsidize food and minimal health care. That might cover bare essentials for life...almost. But who is going to provide the love, the encouragement, the sense of family? Who is going to let the child know about the options and choices the have in life? The person who blames them for taking away all of their life choices? Riiight...

Anyway- in a rare public post I am saying it.* I support a woman's right to choose. I support sex education. I support birth control. I have had an abortion. I did the right thing. I did the right thing for my life.And I did the right thing for the life that might have been.

Any of you who want to post comments to this to tell me that I am a sinner and a murderer and all that crap....scream 'til you are blue. I don't care. I had an abortion. And I was right to do so.

(*Yes, this will be the first time my parents will see this information. Mom, Dad- Sorry you have to see it this way. Sorry I didn't tell you at the time. But we all know it was right for everything and everyone. I love you.)

An Uncharacteristic public postBecause is it important.As a person I have watched so many of my rights disappear.As a woman I watch them disappear even faster. I suppose this is only a matter of time before someone here in the buckle of the bible belt comes up with the million dollars to buy the same decision here.And no, I won't put this behind a cut. It is too important.

South Dakota became the first U.S. state to pass a law banning abortion in virtually all cases, with the intention of forcing the Supreme Court to reconsider its 1973 decision legalizing the procedure.

The law, which would punish doctors who perform the operation with a five-year prison term and a $5,000 fine, awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Michael Rounds and people on both sides of the issue say he is unlikely to veto it.

"My understanding is we are the first state to truly defy Roe v. Wade," the 1973 high court ruling that granted a constitutional right to abortion, said Kate Looby of Planned Parenthood's South Dakota chapter.

State legislatures in Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky also have introduced similar measures this year, but South Dakota's legislative calendar means its law is likely to be enacted first.

"We hope (Rounds) recognizes this for what it is: a political tool and not about the health and safety of the women of South Dakota," Looby said.

"If he chooses to sign it, we will be filing a lawsuit in short order to block it," she said after attending the afternoon debate at the state capital in Pierre.

Proponents have said the law was designed for just such a court challenge.

The timing is right, supporters say, given the recent appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the high court. The two conservatives could pave the way to a decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

The high court said on Tuesday it will rule on whether the federal government can ban some abortion procedures, a case that could reveal whether the court reshaped by President George W. Bush will restrict abortion rights.

In 1992, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the right to abortion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the last direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.

The South Dakota law concludes that life begins at conception based on medical advances over the past three decades.

Proposed amendments to the law to create exceptions to specifically protect the health of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest, were voted down. Also defeated was an amendment to put the proposal in the hands of voters.

The bill as written does make an exception if the fetus dies during a doctor's attempt to save the mother's life.

Planned Parenthood operates the sole clinic in South Dakota where roughly 800 abortions are performed each year by doctors from neighboring Minnesota, Looby said.

Two years ago, Rounds vetoed a similar bill, saying it would wipe out existing restrictions on abortion while it was fought in the courts. A rewritten bill lost narrowly in the state Senate.

Some legislators opposed to abortion rights questioned whether it was premature to challenge Roe v. Wade, and said litigation would prove expensive for the sparsely populated state. An anonymous donor has offered $1 million to the state to defray the costs of litigation.